Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hiding

Hiding my porn... when it's not porn

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:05:38 -0800

How do you keep your fetish materials secret when they look perfectly normal? I don't want a porn buddy; I just never, ever want to have to explain myself or talk about them. I have a cast fetish. I've never shared it with anyone and am very reluctant to do so. It's not a big part of my life, but I do look for YouTube videos very discreetly and fantasize about other people. That's pretty much it. I don't want to get myself all plastered up, and I really, really don't want to get my partner involved.

I would like to get a couple of novels featuring casts/broken bones in subplots. The problem is that I don't generally read novels, and the ones I want to order are typically cheesy, older and look it. If I ordered one specially, there's a good chance that my partner would see them and wonder why I had this tacky old paperback lying around. If I had two or more, my partner would probably associate them (due to their look and subject matter) and think, "Uh, what???"

It's highly possible that my partner wouldn't care, but I'm not personally comfortable with it to even admit that it turns me on, let alone to openly enjoy it or play around with it. Even though I'm usually pretty open and relaxed about sex, it's taken me a long time to even ask this question in the first place. (I don't get into roleplaying at all, and I don't even like the faked fetish videos.)

It's not just a case of getting them at the library or hiding them outside of my apartment. Ideally, I'd be able to keep them around and read them in comfort.

Should I try to scan them and put them in a .pdf hidden somewhere on my computer? Should I get some sort of locked box? We don't actually have any other completely secret places (either places to hide things or places that are locked), but we're not suspicious of each other, so maybe I could just put it in a storage closet somewhere.

Throwaway: embarrassingcrap at gmail.

Scared for my sister!

afabulousbeing — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:03:40 -0800

What do I about a family member who is under fbi protection and is unreachable? Is that person permitted to contact me on their own accord? Should I check with the fbi to figure out if there are, indeed, safe? Lately I've been receiving a number of calls from my mom about my sister and the threats that her ex-fiance has apparently been leveraging against her since they broke up. (This includes numerous letters sent to her neighbors and co-workers slandering her name, as well as damage done and threatening messages graffitied onto two of her vehicles). It turns out that it's not exactly an open and shut case, and recently the fbi has gotten involved and placed her into hiding while the investigation continues. My mother is, understandably, worked up about this and I have no clue how to help except to reassure her that my sister is surely in safe hands. Unfortunately, my mother spoke to another uber-paranoid family member about this before she spoke to me. He had the gall to tell her that maybe this guy was holding a gun to my sister's head, forcing her to tell this wild story over the phone about the fbi. I consider that absurd and hate that that's planted additional fears in my mom's head. At the same time, it seems reasonable that we should be able to find out one way or another whether my sister is, at least, under the protection that she says she is. Isn't it?

Need help hiding my name online!!

giddygirlie — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:47:38 -0800

Keeping my name private on my website - can robots.txt help? I only use my first name on my website, for privacy concerns, but my husband is a public person (professional comic book artist) so he uses his full name.

I just noticed today that if I google my own name, my website comes up as #1 on the search listing. I think this is because I have linked to my husband's site (the URL is his name) so now google is finding my first and last name together and referencing my personal website.

Is there a way to write a robots.txt file that will discourage robots from finding my name on the site? My alternative is to replace all instances of linking to his site with a tinyurl link instead and hope that google refreshes its cache soon.

I don't keep any content that is offensive, I just don't like work people spying on my personal life. :)

Would it be safe to hide cash in my computer?

bindasj — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:22:46 -0800

Would it be safe to hide cash in my computer? Say I'm not worried about someone stealing my computer. I have a desktop with a decent amount of space inside. Would it be safe to hide cash inside? Is there a risk of it catching on fire or getting sucked into the fan or anything else I should know about?

How can I hide completely?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:51:54 -0800

How do I hide properly? Is a PO Box enough? I'm moving to a new apartment, and I don't want my parents (specifically) or anyone (really) to know where I'm going to be living. (I don't live with them currently, but they do know my current address -- in case it's relevant) It's a local move, so it's still in the same general area, but the area is populous enough that it's plausible that I won't run into them. I'll probably still be in contact with them, but I'd rather they not know where I live.

I've already signed the lease, so my name is already there. I don't think my landlord is going to publish those details anywhere, though. Am I wrong? I intend to talk to him about it, if it's a personal decision on his part, but I don't know if it's standard operating procedure or anything. What else do I need to do to prevent my name and address from being listed? So far, my plan is to get a PO Box and have my mail forwarded there. Is that overkill/not enough? Do I need to do anything else?

I started thinking about it when I realized that I currently get lots of junk mail targeted to people from my ancestors' home country (yes, I'm being intentionally vague) -- my name is obviously [whatever]. This makes me think that there are giant lists out there somewhere with names and addresses, and people who have stuff to market just pick names off the list to send to. How do I keep my address off those lists? I guess I don't really mind if a PO Box address gets on those lists, as long as it's not my actual living address.

I won't have my name on any utility bills, I won't have a landline for the phone. What else is there? Throwaway address: hiding.properly@gmail.com

Poetry about Secrets, Hidden Places?

Staggering Jack — Fri, 11 May 2007 19:16:38 -0800

Poetry about secrets, hidden things, hiding places? Lately, I've been making hollow books for gifts. I'd like to paste poems that deal with secrets, hiding places, and the like into the back of the hollowed out section for decoration. Any recommendations for some cool lines? Thanks.

Where's that flavor hiding?

2bucksplus — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:43:54 -0800

What's the original of the phrase "that's where the flavor is hiding"? The first time I remember hearing the verb "to hide" used to describe "flavor" was in the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Oct. 2003):

http://www.tv.com/aqua-teen-hunger-force/revenge-of-the-trees/episode/271074/summary.html

What's the first known usage of this phrase, or more acurately when did "flavor" first "hide"?

Is there a way to use AIM at my work with something that can hide it from being visible on my desktop and systray?

cheero — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 06:41:52 -0800

Is there a way to use AIM at my work with something that can hide it from being visible on my desktop and systray? Is there a way to use AIM at my work with something that can hide it from being visible on my desktop and systray?

Thanks!

Here, kitty, kitty.

bac — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 18:18:40 -0800

My cat is hiding from me. I think. Yesterday I brought home my first cat, an indoor adult Balinese. As all the books had told me to expect, she promptly went off and hid (in several different crannies throughout the day). She came out at night to explore, and after a while approached me and let me pet her and we did the whole bonding thing.

I saw her again this morning, but not since then (about ten hours). I've looked at all the hiding places she used yesterday, and all the new ones I could think of, and I don't see her anywhere. I've searched fairly diligently -- not in the sense of emptying out closets and ripping up carpet, but in the crawling-around-looking-lots-of-places sense.

I'm 99% certain she's still inside. There are no open windows, and the door has been open only a couple times since I last saw her and I was vigilant both times (and she doesn't seem to be exactly a speed demon anyway). I don't see how she could have gotten out, although that possibility worries me.

Should I just wait? Should I try to lure her out from wherever she is, and if so how? I should note that except for a few treats she took from me last night, she does not appear to have eaten, drunk, or used the litter box since coming home about thirty hours ago.

If she wants to hide, that's fine; I'm just a worried that she's not okay.